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“No, no. Ab-absolute-ly not.”
“What was the purpose of you trying to rope me back in then?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest. I’m doing everything possible to keep my poise so I don’t appear as fearful as I am.
“I wanted you to help her, yes, but I didn’t think you would just show up at my door.” So, she didn’t have time to prime her yet.
“You said you’re running out of time. To me it sounds like the perfect time to act and for you to stop drinking.”
I step to the side of Lara and make my way toward the stairwell as the thuds continue. Lara tries to keep up with me, her hand pulls at my shirt, but the fabric slips from her fingers. “I said no!”
I wrench my hand around the doorknob of Madden’s door, finding it twists easily but the door itself won’t budge. I shove my shoulder into the wood and push to get the door to open. “Madden?” I call out.
“Let me out!” she shrills.
“Do not let her out. She’s-s-s a murderer. Why do you think we’re all bruised and battered? I try to cover it up, but I can’t,” Lara snaps, pulling herself up the stairs as if she has two broken legs.
Bruised and battered. “The kids are both covered in bruises. But you appear untouched. Madden’s a child,” I remind her. “Not a monster.”
Lara shakes her head furiously. “No, she hurts us, and herself. She’s dangerous.”
“You’re the only source of danger here that I see.”
“She’ll murder you too if you aren’t careful,” Lara says, tripping on one step.
THIRTY-TWO
MONDAY, JUNE 12TH 1:15 PM
It takes six solid shoulder shoves to the door before I’m able to move whatever is blocking it inside while Lara tries to tug me away with a weak grip on the back of my shirt. “Do-don’t go in there,” Lara bellows.
I twist my upper body with force to loosen her grip and squeeze in through the small opening of the door, then slam it closed behind me and replace the heavy dresser to be flush against the door.
Madden is sitting on her bed, her back against the wall with her legs crossed like a pretzel as she brushes her fingers through a Barbie doll’s long hair. I spot the other door that leads into the bathroom then Blakely’s room and rush to check if it’s locked or accessible.
I jiggle the doorknob, finding it to be locked as I figured but with the lock being on the other side, Lara can still make her way into this room. I scan the tidy bedroom, looking for another piece of heavy furniture, finding a white wooden toy box. I push it across the floor and wedge it diagonally between the threshold and side wall. It’s not as heavy as I was hoping but it should do enough to keep Lara out while I talk to Madden.
I kneel at the side of Madden’s bed, watching as she continues to brush the Barbie doll’s hair. “How long have you been locked in here?” I ask her.
Madden shrugs. “She won’t let me out. She said it’s my fault daddy is in jail.”
“Why does she think that?” I ask.
“Because of Fallon.”
There was silence in the hallway for just long enough to figure Lara had made her way through Blakely’s bedroom. The lock pops open and she’s trying to pry open the door.
“No, no! I don’t want her to come in here!” Madden screams. She jumps off her bed and runs across the room to the toy box, sitting on top to add more weight. “I didn’t do anything! I didn’t do anything. I didn’t know anything…” Madden continues to scream while pressing her fingers into her ears and clenching her eyes. Her cheeks become red, but her voice does not give out.
I follow her, trying to gently take her hands from her ears and close them into mine. “It’s okay. Shh. It’s okay. Just take a breath.”
“No, no, you don’t understand. Nothing will ever be okay again. They blame everything on me. Just me.”
“Did you take Fallon to the ocean?” I ask, keeping my voice at a whisper as Lara continues to bang and push against the door.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know,” she says, pulling her hands back to replace her fingers in her ears. “I don’t want them to take me away.”
“Who?” I ask. “Who will take you away?”
I’m leaning my weight against the toy box too, but I feel the strength of Lara’s attempt to get into the bedroom. “I’ll call the police. Don’t think I won’t!” she threatens.
